


The Melancholy Crescent

by imcakey



Series: The Promise of the Crescent Moon [1]
Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII
Genre: Angst, F/M, Turk Vincent Valentine
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-11
Updated: 2020-11-14
Packaged: 2021-03-09 20:13:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,685
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27502105
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/imcakey/pseuds/imcakey
Summary: Crescent Moon Charm, a charm imbued with the fervent desire to be by one's side for eternity. (FF7R)In Nibelheim 1977, Vincent gifted this charm to Lucrecia.Little did he know that he'd come to wish the story had ended there.
Relationships: Lucrecia Crescent/Vincent Valentine
Series: The Promise of the Crescent Moon [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2009923
Comments: 3
Kudos: 1





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is a translation of the first part of "The Promise of the Crescent Moon" 新月之约 https://archiveofourown.org/works/27478783

Vincent Valentine just keeps going.

Such is the accepted conclusion of the Turks department.

The Turks department of Shinra Corporation has a variety of responsibilities such as security, intelligence and arms, etc. The department sees bringing out the potentials of its agents as the top priority. It inevitably molds them into perfectly shaped tools.

Until Vincent joined.

Vincent is incompatible with the others in the department simply because there is so little to him. Born to a family of scholars, attended a good univeristy. Resume: normal. Background check: unsurprising. But he didn't join a certain civil service department in Shinra after graduation to sit in an office waiting for promotion.

Instead, he went to the Turks, wandering in darkness and violence.

In all fairness, this man's marksmanship is quite good. The Turks were surprised to see a rookie beat their records on the firing range. This quality, if it is slightly polished, is definitely a weapon. That's probably what upstairs thought, so an exception was made for him.

Now things get interesting.

Vincent would reliably complete his contracts. And nothing else.

In Vincent's first mission, negotiations broke down and the hostages were to be killed; everyone was waiting to console him for screwing it up. A scientist's wife and child held hostage, being bartered for Shinra company secrets. There was some ruckus upstairs, and then an order from the top to erase the problem. There had been considerable deliberation, but upon receiving the order Vincent shot them all neatly, each bullet as cleanly shot as a firing range. The pink cream splattered like a flower, so beautiful that it was nauseating.

Vincent wasn't nauseated. He just got on the helicopter back to Midgar and closed his eyes. The driver thought the lost lamb needed guidance, but Vincent was already asleep. Nor did he forget to thank the driver when he left.

There was some whispering at headquarters. Everyone said that Vincent Valentine was born to do this. He didn't need any babying. It was as if he came out of Turks Department™ womb. A cruel man, and therefore the perfect leader for the next generation of the Turks.

Of course, they soon discovered that Vincent had no interest in anything.

There are many good little seedlings in the Turks Department, and they are all very unique. Vincent's partner, Veld, is a savvy schmoozer, eager to climb upstairs. Katana's name speaks for itself. Vincent is very pleasant to work with, but he barely exists after work. Even Scarlet, the queen of high heels, can't convince Vincent to get a beer on the Friday afternoon. Even though it is "highly encouraged" by the company.

Instead, Vincent takes a nice long hike. 

Now it's spring, 1977. Vincent has been with Shinra for six years. His marksmanship is still unmatched, but his productivity is mediocre. When he writes mission reports, he has a concise style that gives himself very little credit. No one is impressed by his modesty. The road to promotion is definitely gone.

Why is he even here? 

Vincent does not seem perturbed by any of this. We join him now, while he is performing a boring escort mission in Nibelheim. It was easy. He took a nap under the tree at lunch.

But then there was a visitor.


	2. Chapter 2

"Sir, has someone informed you that you have beautiful eyes?"

Vincent recovered from a daze to see a woman in a white coat. Lucrecia, assistant of the Jenova Project and one of the personnel under his official protection. PhD in biology -- a path he could have taken, but one that he now felt meaningless. He would have been graduating now, and he would probably be working on cell experiments all day long. Maybe he would have been working with these white coats to study the remains of ancient creatures.

Instead of using all sorts of unthinkable techniques to create fresh corpses.

Vincent's eyes are red, the unique pupil color of his bloodline. With Vincent's cold expression, it is particularly photogenic. From childhood to adulthood, everyone always liked to talk about them.

For the first time, someone used his pupil color as an opening remark[1].

The scientist in a white coat bent over and looked at Vincent lying on the grass with a smile, seemingly not caring about the rumors. Vincent's commander-like attitude, coupled with his deliberate estrangement in personal relationships, gave birth to many tall tales. People wonder if the delicate appearance of this introverted, silent youth hides a tormenting demon; does he ever flinch when he brings pain and death; he looks young, but who knows how many lives he had taken?

The latest guess is three hundred. When Vincent overheard, he thought "these scientists aren't complete idiots." Completely wrong assumptions, nearly correct conclusion. He had no intention of blocking these speculations, instead allowing them to grow wildly, so that others would be forewarned. 

Obviously, Lucrecia is not one of these "others". She stood under the tree and looked at him, her eyes smiled, completely unaware of the danger - there was a small arms arsenal hidden in him.

He looked at her, and she looked back into those red eyes.

Vincent sighed in his heart: This girl thinks she's in * _Pride and Prejudice_ *. 

He closed his eyes and rolled over, not giving Lucrecia any response.

She did not immediately walk away. She sat down beside Vincent. The smell of grass was overwhelmed by something fresh - or, is this her perfume? Vincent didn't know. The sun pulled the girl's shadow and cast it on Vincent's head and face, reminding him that the uninvited guest had not yet left.

Vincent didn't open his eyes, he didn't know what she was looking at. He was waiting for her to go away.

After a while, the girl fulfilled his wish. Before leaving, she didn't forget to say: "I guess I'm interrupting today. See you next time!"

Vincent didn't expect that she was serious.

The next day, at the same place, Vincent's lunch break, she came again. He recognized the girl at a distance of thirty meters. She is still wearing a white coat, but it is a little different. The shirt on the inside is replaced with a blue pleated shirt. The hazmat pants are replaced with an elegant gray skirt. The colors matched, fresh and harmonious. Holding the lunch box, she walked unhurriedly.

Before the woman could approach, Vincent closed his eyes and silently refused.

This girl is unexpectedly stubborn, even a little childish. She spoke to the closed Vincent, softly as if talking to herself: The sun is shining, and the blurry round softness of the hills in the distance looks beautiful. After she spread the lunch cloth and sat down, there was a smile in her voice: Mr. Turk, will you keep your eyes closed as long as I am here?

Vincent ignored her.

Lucrecia didn't feel annoyed and opened the lunch box, and the aroma of food came to his face. She slowly picked out the onigiri with her chopsticks, not forgetting to make Vincent uncomfortable, "Is Mr. Guard from Wutai? Looks like it. I like the food in Wutai and I know how to cook it. Feel free to try it." So on and so forth.

Although Vincent's eyes were closed, the smell of the cutlet reminded him of his mother's handmade bento. Lucrecia guessed right, Vincent's mother is from Wutai. She moved to the East Continent for his father. But his father was always traveling. His mother once mentioned that perhaps, she should have settled down in her home, in Wutai.

"Anyway, if there is no husband, there is no family."

At that time, Vincent didn't know how to respond, so he swallowed piece after piece of food in silence, as if this could encourage his mother -- Look!You have a son! He loves your cooking!

It has been eight years since his mother passed away. Vincent has not smelled the aroma of his childhood food for eight years.

He had learned to cook, but he deliberately avoided the taste of home.

Lucrecia treated his silence as some kind of permission, not speaking until she ran out of lunch. She packed up her lunchbox soundlessly. She did not leave, but sat quietly under the tree.

After a long time, Lucrecia said, "Mr. Turk, you're going to be late for your shift."

She was right again. Vincent had an afternoon shift guarding a PI of the Jenova project, Dr. Hojo. A man with a temper as big as his position. Only Vincent ever managed to keep a calm expression when faced with his insults.

"Ah, if this goes on, I will be late in the afternoon, too." Lucrecia sounded a little distressed, but not afraid at all: "What should I do when Director Hojo inevitably unleashes his anger again?"

Vincent decided that he couldn't go on like this. He made up his mind and opened his eyes, intending to leave without giving Lucrecia an unnecessary response.

When he opened his eyes, he met the woman who was about to get up.

The girl smiled at him softly, not showing any trace of teasing. Vincent realized that the face under her long hair was soft and her brown eyes were gentle like the earth under a clear river. It was completely incompatible with the appearance of her teeth and claws in his imagination.

Without saying much, Lucrecia walked away.

Vincent was left sitting there, feeling something unreal, like a trace of a dream faded away.

The cool fragrance of perfume.

She scanned as a delicate flower that needs protection. One would have expected sweet citrus or delicate lily. Why did she choose a grassy fragrance that revealed only that there was something to reveal?

For the rest of the day, Vincent performed his duties as always. But there was a tiny seed in his heart that couldn't stop trembling when blown by the wind.

  
  


[1]: This line can be quite common in America but would be considered quite bold in most Asian cultures. Let's just say that the story takes place at a more conservative time. 


End file.
